Sensory Overload
by Knickknack's Attack
Summary: A day at the beach like any other...until the cursed hamburgers come out to play.


I struggled with this sight for a good hour or two before I stopped and actually read the guide. Opps. Anywho this is my first FanFic (YAY!) so we'll see how it goes. Phew, this is nerve wracking. Here goes nothing...

Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater.

_**Sensory Overload**_

Maka Albarn loved the beach.

Every aspect of it appealed to her. It assaulted every sense, pleasantly overwhelming with a mix of sun, sand and water.

**Sound:** The way the waves crashed against the shore, either in boisterous celebration or soothing sighs. How the impatient water rushed through grains of sand, racing the gentle wind. When the spine of her latest hardback jarred resolutely with the top of Kid's head as he cried over the lack of symmetry that graced the positioning of her bathing suit top.

**Smell:** The salty air hovering over the sand. The still burning hamburgers that Liz had tried (and failed) to barbeque earlier. The waifs of sunscreen mingling with the wind as a distressed Tsubaki chased a madly cackling Black Star who was hell bent on being the first to reach the water.

**Touch:** The grinning sun's rays caressing her skin. The warm sand stealing between her toes and across her towel. The heavy weight on her leg as Soul used his hand to propel himself further down the stretch of beach they shared. The sharp sting on her palm as she slapped the back of his shoulders in retribution.

**Taste:** The salty tang as she licked her chapped lips. The charred meat she was forced to swallow as Liz watched her like a hawk. The hint of sunscreen that lingered on Soul as he slapped his hand over her mouth, cutting off her cry of outrage as she saw him toss his burnt sandwich to the swarming seagulls.

**Sight:** The sun that glanced off the water and highlighted the mist in the air. The vast, stretching sands that seemed to reach to the ends of the earth. The wolfish grin that spread across Patty's face as she tackled Black Star, effectively beating him to water. How Soul's long body stretched under the glimmering sun, muscles bunching and sliding as he cut himself off from the rest of the world in the form of pounding headphones.

Maka really did love the beach.

For a moment she tuned out the rest of her friends to stare at Soul.

Soul.

Soul, Soul, Soul.

And what about Soul? What was it that was so special about him, so recently changed that she now did double takes and was constantly getting whiplash in order to avoid getting caught while ogling? Maka didn't know.

Or maybe she did.

It was very possibly the fact that he had gotten taller, with hard packed muscles and a lean face that conveyed absolute boredom and utmost sexiness at the same time. But they all had that now. Maybe not the sex appeal and apathy but they had all matured at least phycially, if not mentally. The boys were taller, more fit; the girls were curvier, more developed. Even Maka had gained a cup size or two.

Well, maybe not two but the point stood. They were all changing, developing new powers, creating new standards. But it was Soul who caught her attention.

His muscles rippled under tan skin as he stretched out on his back in the sand. The scar across his chest stretched with him, drawing her eyes down his lean body from shoulders to hips. Maka pulled her book up to eye level and peeked at Soul over the top. She studied his broad chest and abs with interest.

It had been a usual thing to see Soul traipse around their apartment half dressed. It was nothing new. But ever since his shoulders filled out and his stomach filled in, that slouching around the house half naked made her feel uncomfortably hot. The heat always crept up her cheeks and down her neck in a most embarrassing and ridiculous manner.

It was just Soul, for Death's sake!

Maka wasn't the only one who had seemed to notice. There were girls at school now, who stopped and stared at him in the halls, tried to sit near him at lunch or snuck looks at him during class. Not that Maka wasn't doing the same thing.

But, damn it, Soul was hers!

Or was he?

Sure, Soul was her partner, her roommate, her weapon, her friend…but that's not what this was about. No, this was about, about…well, Maka wasn't quite sure but it certainly was not about cooking someone a meal or protecting them from an evil kishin soul. Not at all.

Maka was forced back to reality when a round, flying object came rushing toward her face.

Crap.

While she had been daydreaming about Soul, Black Star had found a volleyball and demanded, as a mighty god, that everyone bow down and play a game (which they would all ultimately lose) against his awesome self.

Except no one had listened.

Tsubaki had been busy soothing Liz's hurt pride over the ruined hamburgers; Patty was laughing as Kid tried to brush off a symmetrical amount of sand on either side of his towel; Soul was immersed in his music; Maka was drooling over Soul.

Thus…the flying volleyball.

Black Star had thrown it in childish rage at Kid and miscalculated the distance. Patty, who was in the direct path of the ball, was pushed aside by Kid, who then (to Patty's delight) proceeded to hit it off to the side. The ball was then flying at Liz, who screamed bloody murder. This alerted Tsubaki to its presence and she acted accordingly. The ball deflected off the hamburger platter she picked up and it sailed to the opposite end of the beach.

Right at Maka's face.

Crap.

Between the book in her hands and the slow mentally withdrawal from Soul's distracting body, Maka was fully unprepared for the offending object.

Crap.

Stupid Soul with his stupid six-pack and stupid sexy smile. Stupid Black Star with his stupid ego and stupid volleyball. Stupid hamburger platter with its stupid trajectory path.

Maka concluded that most everything in that moment was stupid.

_**WACK!**_

Wasn't that supposed to hurt? Maka slowly cracked open her eyes.

She was met with a _less_ than frightening sight.

Soul was hovering over her, one hand planted by her shoulder, supporting his weight. The other arm was spread over and across her body, elbow still bent in the defensive position that had saved her from her impending doom.

Maka reassessed.

This was a downright wonderful situation. Because the chest and stomach she had been staring at was now a mere foot away.

It was even better up close.

At this point all hell broke loose. Patty laughed relentlessly, rolling in the sand. Kid screeched and immediately grabbed for Patty, who now had an uneven amount of sand coating her. Liz finally cracked and started chucking the remaining hamburgers at Black Star. Soul ducked and landed squarely on Maka, shielding them both from the flying meat. Patty got up and started chasing Black Star with her sister, knocking over Maka's beach umbrella across Soul's back. Kid followed Patty, howling over his job left unfinished, and Tsubaki followed everyone else calling worriedly and cautioning the other about Black Star's health.

This all went down in a flurry that gradually swept down the beach, eventually leaving Soul and Maka alone amongst a sea of overdone sandwiches.

"Bloody hell! Those goddamn hamburgers hurt more than the ball. What the hell did she _do_ to that poor cow?"

Maka shook her head, not bothering with a verbal response, on account of the fact she found Soul's well sculpted chest squashed against her own much more interesting. After a few moments more of grumbled complaints Soul seemed catch on.

"Something wrong, Maka?" he said tilting his head to the side with a barely concealed smirk.

"Pft! Nnnnoooo!"

"Hmm…" was his only response. He shifted and repositioned himself on her body. His forearms encircled her head and one leg pushed between her thighs. The umbrella slid down to the small of his back, the bright fabric cutting off her view of their friends. His breath tickled her lips and her already warm skin became warmer. Maka was pretty sure she just squeaked.

How uncool.

But where in the hell had this come from? Why was Soul suddenly fixated on her? Had he always felt like this? If so, what took so freaking long?

Soul grinned down wickedly at her. Maka felt like she was melting. In that moment she forgot about all her fretting and let go of all her worries. All the other fan-girls at school didn't matter, the years of platonic friendship ceased to exist.

Right then and there Maka was sure Soul felt the same way. The exact description of that "same way" eluded her at the moment but that didn't matter either. All that did matter was that Soul's lips were getting closer and their eyes seemed to be drifting shut of their own accord.

When their mouths sealed together Maka finally understood why all the heroines in her books turned to goo when they kissed boys.

Because right now she felt like something that closely resembled jelly.

Their lips slid soundlessly, tongues danced to an unmarked beat. Her hands crept up his sides and around his waist, his arms extended out bringing them closer. Their legs clenched together, toes curled in the sand.

Maka held a newfound belief in spontaneous combustion.

Because, right now, her senses were being overwhelmed again. She quite resolutely believed she would explode from sensory overload.

**Sound**: The crunch of sand beneath them as they twisted and turned, trying to get closer still.

**Smell**: The sunscreen, sweat and something that was uniquely Soul that surrounded her in a haze.

**Touch**: The slip of fingers as they trailed across sweating and flushing skin, pulling at bathing suits and tracing long scars.

**Taste**: Salt, Soul-endued sweetness…and burnt hamburgers?...that pressed against chapped lips.

**Sight:** The look in his half lidded crimson eyes after they broke apart with a gasp for breath.

"_Yahoo_! Who's the boss now, _bitches_!"

"Shit."

"Damn."

"We can't…"

"Nope."

"That would be…"

"…bad."

"Yep."

"Shit."

When Black Star pulled back the umbrella with a flourish and a loud _'who missed their god?'_ all he saw was an annoyed Soul with headphones back in his ears laying a good five feet away from his meister, who looked just as annoyed to be interrupted from her book.

What he, and the rest of their crew who arrived shortly thereafter, didn't notice was that fact that Soul had the opposite buds jammed in each of his ears and that Maka's book was upside-down.

When everything finally calmed down and the sandy hamburgers were surrendered to the seagulls they all packed up and started the long trek back to the road. As Maka mounted the motorcycle and slipped her arms around Soul's waist (which she was now very well acquainted with) Kid spoke up suddenly.

"Hey, Maka!"

"Yeah?"

"Your bathing suit top is symmetrical again!"

_**THE END!**_

I did it! Hurray! I hope it's not to OOC or lame (okay we all now it's lame but that's what it's supposed to be). It was inspired by far too many shirtless boys strutting down the beach in front of me. I was powerless against it. Please give me any feedback you can...in other words: REVIEW!

On a sidenote: Can someone please tell me how to put in a real author's, with the official looking line and everything? Perty please with lots of surfer boys on top?


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